I've changed my mind...
I've had a lot of chances to think recently and one thing I noticed is how there is a stigma against changing one's mind. As a philosophical person, I always try to see every side of the argument, even the sides that seem crazy or far-fetched. In politics, the idea that a politician could change his mind is actually used as an attack on their competence as a public official. During the 2004 Presidential campaign, John Kerry was repeatedly called "flip-flopper" because he had voted one way before, but later changed his stance and voted in the other direction later. This is actually being used in current elections throughout the country. Candidates are attacking incumbents who voted for the war in the first place but who now oppose it by calling them "flip-floppers". The sad thing to me is that this is saying that our government can't change a stance on something for fear of being seen as weak-willed.
I'm a flip-flopper. I actually think about things and analyze the results of my decisions, and sometimes realize that I've made a mistake in my choices. I don't try to cover up my mistakes or deny myself the opportunity to improve on that mistake. Hell, I used to consider myself a Republican and supported Bush over Clinton (when I was too young to vote) and had strong feelings AGAINST legalized abortion. But as I learned more about the world around myself through experience and education, I found my opinions shifting left. I knew a few girls who had abortions before turning 18 and thought about what the cost/benefit of bringing a child into that situation. If she had given birth to the child, it would have been raised to an unwed teenage girl with alcohol and drug problems. That made me consider that there are many situations where an abortion is justified. So I changed my mind.
To me, changing one's mind is a sign of intelligence. Everyone is able to formulate an opinion, but it takes an open mind to change that opinion. I also believe being open minded is a sign of intelligence. Having an open mind doesn't just mean that one is open to suggestion, but is also able to take in new and alternate methods when thinking about or discussing something. Unfortunately, our government doesn't believe this. They think the opposite way. If one sticks to their convictions, they have "strong opinions" which makes it sound like a good thing to go down with a sinking ship. Instead of letting that ship sink with me at the helm, I'd much rather figure out a way to right the ship, even if it means damage to the hull or losing some of the cargo.
The Republican party is taking this stance. Why else would we step in and impede on social progress taking place in Mexico because it conflicts with our failed drug policies. Instead of taking a serious look at how damaging the war on drugs has been to this nation and many others, we continue to force it upon cities, counties, states and nations that are doing everything in their power to change things up. If nothing else, we should learn from our past that our first instinct isn't always the right one. It's like saying that slavery should remain because it's already going on, or that women shouldn't be allowed to vote because only men voted in the past.
Time brings progress, and it's only stopped consciously. We saw this happen en masse during the "dark ages" of Europe when the Middle East was advancing in culture and education. Then they switched roles and the Middle East went religious and stopped progressing and began regressing while Europe was enjoying rebirth (rennaissance literally means "rebirth). It's happened in every empire in history, a period of expansion, a time of dominance, and then the contraction. During the contractions of Rome, Greece and the Holy Roman Empire the people grew complacent with their position of power and allowed others to overtake or weaken them. I see our closed-mindedness as a sign of our impending downfall. After all, it's only a matter of time before all of our bad decisions catch up to us.
I'm a flip-flopper. I actually think about things and analyze the results of my decisions, and sometimes realize that I've made a mistake in my choices. I don't try to cover up my mistakes or deny myself the opportunity to improve on that mistake. Hell, I used to consider myself a Republican and supported Bush over Clinton (when I was too young to vote) and had strong feelings AGAINST legalized abortion. But as I learned more about the world around myself through experience and education, I found my opinions shifting left. I knew a few girls who had abortions before turning 18 and thought about what the cost/benefit of bringing a child into that situation. If she had given birth to the child, it would have been raised to an unwed teenage girl with alcohol and drug problems. That made me consider that there are many situations where an abortion is justified. So I changed my mind.
To me, changing one's mind is a sign of intelligence. Everyone is able to formulate an opinion, but it takes an open mind to change that opinion. I also believe being open minded is a sign of intelligence. Having an open mind doesn't just mean that one is open to suggestion, but is also able to take in new and alternate methods when thinking about or discussing something. Unfortunately, our government doesn't believe this. They think the opposite way. If one sticks to their convictions, they have "strong opinions" which makes it sound like a good thing to go down with a sinking ship. Instead of letting that ship sink with me at the helm, I'd much rather figure out a way to right the ship, even if it means damage to the hull or losing some of the cargo.
The Republican party is taking this stance. Why else would we step in and impede on social progress taking place in Mexico because it conflicts with our failed drug policies. Instead of taking a serious look at how damaging the war on drugs has been to this nation and many others, we continue to force it upon cities, counties, states and nations that are doing everything in their power to change things up. If nothing else, we should learn from our past that our first instinct isn't always the right one. It's like saying that slavery should remain because it's already going on, or that women shouldn't be allowed to vote because only men voted in the past.
Time brings progress, and it's only stopped consciously. We saw this happen en masse during the "dark ages" of Europe when the Middle East was advancing in culture and education. Then they switched roles and the Middle East went religious and stopped progressing and began regressing while Europe was enjoying rebirth (rennaissance literally means "rebirth). It's happened in every empire in history, a period of expansion, a time of dominance, and then the contraction. During the contractions of Rome, Greece and the Holy Roman Empire the people grew complacent with their position of power and allowed others to overtake or weaken them. I see our closed-mindedness as a sign of our impending downfall. After all, it's only a matter of time before all of our bad decisions catch up to us.
posted by Dan Pasternack at 3:14 PM
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